Model Railroad Podcast
hosted by: Ryan Andersen & Will Ayerst
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Model Railcast Show #29
Sat, Sep 6, 2008
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| Posted by: Ryan Andersen |
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We still have our slogan-giveaway running, the prize - A FULL SET of Joe Fugate's DVD's! Details in this episode! MRC Show # 29 Notes
Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters: MRC Show 29 (AAC)
Yard Office We still have our giveaways running, the prize - A FULL SET of Joe Fugate's DVD's! and of course, to name of Tim's segment.
Roundhouse TRYTH Departure tracks Outro Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters: MRC Show 29 (AAC) |
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Posted by: dmcree
 on Mon, Sep 8 2008
www.tamvalleyrr.comWow an early show!
Just a clarification - I was backpacking in the Sierras - that's where you take everything you need for a week throw it into a pack and head into the wilderness. We had fresh trout for dinner every night. The book I sent Ryan was "The Crookedest Railroad in the World" by Ted Wurm and Al Graves, a history of the Mt Tamalpais and Muir Woods Scenic Railway. There are lots of used copies available on Amazon.com. The book was the major inspiration for me to get into Model Railroading - even though I do SP modeling these days, I started out modeling Shays and Heislers in the redwoods. My first layout many years ago was the Redwood Railroad. It was more a collection of stuff than a layout :-) Ryan has commented twice now on his "messed up" decoders and I wanted to throw in that all that he may need to do is to re-program them. Every once in a while one of my decoders will get some random bits in it somehow. I put them back on the programming track, fire up JMRI and reprogram the whole decoder back to the way it was. Another real advantage to having all your locos backed up and saved in JMRI and for having a computer interface to program with. As a technical note I would like to point out that you don't have to the same DCC system for programming as you do for running your layout. In particular I now use a TTTrains Black Box which I bought for $60 from Tony's Train Exchange for programming my locos at my workbench. You will also need a computer interface such as the XPA or the LI101. For the power supply I used an old power pack I had. With this setup I can program all my locos with JMRI from my laptop. I have a separate system for running the layout that I now never use for programming. Another plug for Joe's DVDs - he has an excellent section on setting the throttle speeds so that they all run at the same speed at a given throttle setting. It makes m.u. consisting work a lot better. There is another topic for you guys for a future show - multiple unit consisting. Duncan http://www.tamvalleyrr.com |
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Great show guys!
A small point of clarification, and Duncan can vouch for this, the correct pronunciation of "Tamalpais" is "Tam-ul-pie-us". Its a beautiful area Marin headlands located just north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Have a great week all! -Sean |
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You guys are doing great! Nuff Said.
1934: The Union Pacific M-10000 is dedicated in February. This Pullman-built 3-car all-aluminum articulated train was the first streamliner in the US. It was powered by a Winton V12 600 HP distillate engine, and was capable of 110 mph. It made a 12,625 mile coast-to-coast exhibition trip, and was seen by almost 1.2 million people at various stops. Went into service as the City of Salina on Jan. 31, 1935. The power car was designed by Richard Dilworth. 1934: The Burlington Zephyr is dedicated on April 18th. On May 26 this Budd-built 3-car articulated train of stainless steel made a record breaking dawn to dusk run from Denver to Chicago, 1016 miles, at an average speed of 77.6 mph and a top speed of 112.5 mph. It was the first Diesel-electric streamliner in the US, employing a Winton inline 8-cyl. 600 HP 201A two-stroke engine. The power car was designed by Richard Dilworth. 1934: Construction of the first streamlined electric locomotives begins. These were the Pennsy GG-1's, which pulled high-speed passenger trains between NYC and Washington, DC. They developed 8,500 HP and cost $250,000. Production continued until 1943 and they were used into the early 1980's by AMTRAK. 1934: The Denver & Rio Grande Western completes the construction of the Dotsero cutoff, connecting the D&RGW and D&SL main lines in central Colorado and opening a direct route between Denver and Salt Lake City. Cheers, Todd Siddle |
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Great show guys,
I enjoy the new format as it allows for a more in-depth looks at different subjects and also allows for greater discussion. I am looking forward to the scenery information in the next show. Would it be possible to request some information on making rocks from moulds? Any tips or tricks? Keep up the great work! Jimmyjack |
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Enjoyed the show as always guys. Tim has been a great addition. I especially enjoyed his piece on the Baldwin Sharknose as my very first model locomotive over 30 years ago was a Tyco Sharknose. Also got a chuckle out of Will's Yard Office piece about his uneven floor under his layout. I have the same problem. My house was built in 1895 and I also have an uneven floor in the train room which is why my layout is being built on a shelf!
Take care! |
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Posted by: jfugate
 on Wed, Sep 10 2008
http://siskiyou-railfan.netSome comments on MRC's computer interface.
I spoke with Bob Jacobsen (the head of the JMRI effort) and he told me he'd spoken with MRC about adding them to the JMRI family - and they turned him down flat. They said they're using a proprietary scheme and will be releasing their own software using it. And of course, there's also the announced $200 list price. Of course we don't know what the street price will be, but it's almost certainly going to be more than the $35 - $75 price of the other system computer interfaces. MRC could always do an about face - and we can keep hoping they will. But as it stands now, if they continue down this proprietary path their system is going to quickly fall out of favor with hobbyists. |
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Very interesting discussion guys this week. Of interest the Baldwin Sharks ,The Monogahela Railway which for some reason they were a big Baldwin customer in particular S12's in the 50's .Went and bought eight former NY Central Sharks for about $6000.00 a piece. These were pretty beat up units and was a stop gap measure to hall coal out of the mines in Pennsylvania and West Virgina. I credit Diesel Era magzine for great pictures and articles on loco's a must to have if you are a Diesel Fan. JimK
Congratulations Ryan NCE you got it right ! |
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Another great show. I'm looking forward to next weeks roundhouse on scenery. The new format seems to be working well. It feels like I'm getting more information that involves trains AND model railroading. Keep up the good work!
1934 In Railroad The first patent was issued for Maglev - shorthand for magnetic levitation. Magnetic levitation is basically a train that floats on an electromagnetic cushion, which is propelled along a guideway at incredible speeds. Some pros and cons of Maglev vs. conventional rail are: Maglev - a mile of track costs at least £3.5m to build and that's not including the cost of the giant electricity substations. That is highly expensive! But not only can Maglev cut journey times in half, maglev is cleaner and cheaper to run than passenger aircraft. According to studies - the technology uses five times less energy - per passenger mile - than jet aircraft. Maglev trains cost a few million pounds per vehicle, compared with $200m for the average Boeing 747. Maglev schedules should also be less affected by bad weather or congestion than air travel and are cheaper to maintain. As the maglev has no wheels there is far less erosion of track, radically cutting operating costs. Now if any of this is true, I personal do not know. There is a lot of information on the internet and it is not always true. Or is it!? I would like to hear your thoughts on this. Douglas |
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Great show guys!
Initially I was not that wild about the new format, but must admit that now I think it works well. My vote is to switch to the new format. A final comment about DCC. One thing to consider with DCC is that there is a limit to the number of engines you can operate simultanelously which is a function of the Amps the power boster is rated for and the current draw for each engine. For N-scale, this is less of a concern as most engines draw 200 to 500mM, but for HO scale where engines generally draw 500 to 800mA you will be limited to 3-5 engines with a typical 3 amp booster. Something to consider when buying a system. For 1934, the Long Island Rail Road celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1934. |
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I was listening to broadcast #29 while I wrote this.
Regarding the format change, I liked the old format as it was easier to listen than the new one, very important to one who is partially deaf (partially in the fact that the right ear is shot, and the left wears an hearing aid). DC versus DCC: I am old school (only 47), so I run and will run DC. I have to admit that I had thought about it as my On30 Bachmann Shay has a DCC decoder installed, but, in regards to my current layout (from nowhere to nowhere in 25 sq ft) and the future layouts, DCC would be overkill. Gn15 layouts are pretty simple, and even though the next layout will be inspired by the Tateyama (http://www.hrr.mlit.go.jp/tateyama/english/service/list1.htm) with the multitudes of switchbacks, it too will be DC. FYI: Steam ran on the Colorado narrow gauge until 1968/1969. Wayde |
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Posted by: jimsmodeltrains on Wed, Sep 17 2008
www.stanfordhosting.net/jimsjunction
Great show.
Jay, I can sympathize with your regarding your upcoming move! Hope all goes well. I found it interesting what Ryan said about locos he converted to DCC. I have heard comments from a number of friends about having similar issues with DCC being fine at the start but eventually locos stopped working or there was a rather pungent decoder burning smell at some point in their DCC experience. I had none of those problems myself, and I suspect that it might have something to do with the fact that I purchased locos with DCC decoders already onboard. And the locos I purchased were the less expensive Bachmann DCC Onboard ones - haven't had a single problem with any of them at all, and I have had most of them about 4 years now! I don't know what other people's experience has been with dirty track and DCC; I have had very few dirty track problems, even when my layout was housed in a rather dusty 'barn' in the backyard, in an area prone to dust storms. Enjoyed the segment on the RF16 too. |
on Mon, Sep 8 2008
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